ABSTRACT

This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book discusses the results of research project were used. It was about the role of knowledge politics in the context of far-reaching labour market reforms in two countries – namely the ‘Hartz reforms’ in Germany and the ‘New Deal’ programs in the UK. The book summarizes the considerations presented on knowledge and political decisions. The types of political decision-making in question range from majority decisions and hierarchical interventions legitimated by the former to those involving horizontal coordination of action. The book deals with the importance of knowledge in the process of reaching and implementing socially binding decisions, focuses on the formation and reproduction as well as the questioning and transformation of what is termed a knowledge order. By identifying the social mechanisms in communicative interactions, an attempt is made to overcome deficiencies in concepts of learning.